Security as a Service will Gain Significant Traction in the Near Future Owing to its Widespread Commercial Application

Adoption to SaaS (security-as-a-service business) model is gaining importance among companies seeking for integration of security into their business infrastructure. In addition, upcoming trends of technology related to IoT (Internet of Things) & cloud computing is likely to continue compelling more businesses towards implementing SaaS business model which in turn would result in cost savings. A study by Persistence Market Research (PMR) states that the global security-as-a-service market is anticipated to register an impressive 17.1% CAGR during 2016 to 2026.

Reduction of expenses without hiking the competitive pricing of products

IBM’s Blockchain to be offered as a Service

With several leading organizations providing SaaS models and increasing adoption of these models, the global security-as-a-service market is likely to experience a significant growth opportunity in the near future. One such security provider, IBM is expected to witness a change in fortune owing to its launch of Blockchain-as-a-service recently. A public cloud service, IBM Blockchain is used for construction of tailor-made blockchain solutions on IBM cloud. Currently, Blockchain technology is expected to be at the brim of inflated expectations. On the basis of Hyperledger Fabric version 1.0 (Linux Foundation), BaaS is influenced by IBM’s ‘High Security Business Network’ and is sold by claiming implementations of full-stack security including tamper-responsive hardware security modules and secure service containers. IBM Blockchain is currently available on IBM Bluemix through a beta program and on Docker Hub as an IBM-certified image downloadable for free.

A New Research Project by CSA

“Promotion of best practices utilization for provision of security assurance in cloud computing and provision of education for cloud computing uses helping to secure all types of computing” is currently the mission statement of Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), a cloud-security provider based in APAC (Asia Pacific). Emphasizing more on the second part of their mission statement, CSA is commencing a new research project for the provision of greater clarity on security-as-a-service. A number of security vendors are coming up with cloud-based models for delivering security solutions. This inclination is attributed to various reasons including higher economies of scale & streamlined delivery mechanisms. In spite of motivations offered for such services, consumers face challenges regarding evaluation of security solution that don’t run on premises. By understanding the unique nature of security offering delivered by cloud, consumers need to evaluate the offerings and focus on meeting their needs. This research will focus on identification of consensus definitions for understanding what SaaS means, categorizing several types of SaaS and providing guidance on reasonable practices of implementation to organizations. While the working group will identify the other purposes of the research.

Importance of Security-as-a-Service

Owing to the rapid growth of complex technologies for physical security, the commercial integrators are providing security along with automation and AV. Particularly for access control and video surveillance, there is a significant demand for integration of AV and automation with intrusion, building management, life safety, heating & cooling, and others. SaaS provides solutions for all the above applications along with two physical security management approaches usually known as video surveillance as a service (VSaaS) and access control as a service (ACaaS). These services involve data processing & retention in the data processing centers with immense magnitude residing on the cloud. SaaS enhances quantity & quality of accurate, timely information ultimately reaching service technicians, end-user security personnel and especially, first responders. The need for an effective solution for enterprise for performing globally is one of the reasons why SaaS finds its applications among various commercial applications.